The first U.S. stamp bearing the first-class mail rate of 32 cents for the first ounce honored the 150th anniversary of Florida's statehood. Florida became the nation's twenty-seventh state on March 3, 1845. It originally was settled by the Seminole Indians and was named by the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon during his explorations of the peninsula in 1513 and 1521. Florida became a gateway to the future in the 1960s as the major launching site for manned space flights, including the historic Apollo 11 flight to the moon. The alligator was used as the principal design feature of this stamp because it is the most often used symbol of the state. Alligators, which are indigenous to the region, are also the official state reptile.